FAIRY TAIL – 171

Rage – that’s all I can feel at the moment. And a little bit of pain because I’m sick, but that’s irrelevant. Anyway, this episode was terrible. Not the episode itself, but just the things that happened in it. It’s hard for me to phrase myself after seeing this. I knew how brutal this would be and that there would be cruelty in this battle. But still, my heart wasn’t prepared enough. I don’t mind seeing characters I like losing in battles, but unfair fights are hard to tolerate. Words aren’t enough to describe how much I loathe Minerva. She may be a gorgeous woman but that’s her only positive trait. Everything else about her is completely rotten. I just can’t stand her attitude. Nothing is more heroic than sacrificing something for someone else, which is what Lucy was doing, and then Minerva had to go step all over it.

I feel so sorry for Lucy. This arc has been nothing but unfair to her as a character. I think it’s great that the others in FAIRY TAIL have been doing quite well recently, but it’s ridiculous how some characters win so easily while Lucy always ends up facing jerks. I don’t think the others should lose more, that’s definitely not my point. I just think Lucy should be facing fair opponents. The way she has been portrayed in this arc is so wrong. She is a mage with a lot of potential. She may not be as strong as her team mates, but she is powerful. I wish there would be some fair opponents out there for her so we’d be able to see Lucy’s outstanding magic. I feel so sad about the results of her battles. First Flare and now Minerva…

Technically, one could say that this was a fair battle because there was no “cheating” involved. But I definitely think this was unfair, rude, and just cruel. I’m surprised that the battle wasn’t stopped right after the clock stopped ticking. What if Arcadios wouldn’t need Lucy for his Eclipse project? Would no one have stopped it then? It makes no sense to see people not doing anything about torture. I’m really surprised, and I must say, this battle sucked. Oh, something else that also sucks a bit is the fact that Yukino has joined the royal knights. She has just walked into Arcadios’ plans, and I really don’t want to see anything bad happen to her.

Aside from my rage and the unfairness of this fight, let’s not forget some of the highlights in this episode. I am a bit sad to see Juvia being used as a comedy character all the time. She used to be an S-class mage, yet she seems to be weaker than Wendy sometimes. She was so strong in this battle but fell out because she didn’t pay attention to Minerva. While I doubt she’d be able to beat Minerva, I think she should’ve been the one to get in second place. This arena was made for her, but oh well. At least we were given a chance to see how her love for Gray affects her magic. I must say, she is really impressive and I don’t know why Gray would feel embarrassed. I am sure that any person would feel flattered – I know I would!

While I am writing about love, I can totally see Evergreen and Elfman together. The Tenrou Island arc gave us plenty of hints, such as the marriage prank. And now, I mean, just look at them! If they don’t end up together, I will punch someone in the face (not really). If Elfman called someone anything but “man”, that person should feel special. I really hope that FAIRY TAIL will have some romance in it…

Having said that, next week’s episode will centre on another battle – Blue Pegasus is up. I’ve never cared much about Ichiya but he is a funny guy so I hope I’ll be able to laugh a bit. Comedy will definitely be appreciated after today’s devastating episode. Hopefully things will change for the better. At least it looks like Lucy is fine for now. What’s the point in having that cliffhanger if she is fine and resting in the preview? I don’t get it… Oh well, FAIRY TAIL having spoilers everywhere isn’t something new, I mean, just look at the opening sequences. Anyway, next week’s episode will probably be lots of fun and hopefully it will smell good (that is probably a weird thing to say). I look forward to it!

Note: I have some sad news to share with you. As you may or may not be aware of, FAIRY TAIL, the anime, is ending at the end of this month. I guess this is good because the manga and the anime are very close to each other right now, but at the same time, I feel really sad because this is a show I absolutely love. I am glad that the manga is far from over, but still, it doesn’t feel right that this is my last month blogging this anime. Anyway, that’s how it is, but hopefully this won’t be the last we’ll see of this franchise animated.

When is Japan going to learn a word for HIATUS? As in the period of time TV Shows get in order to take a breather and get more material to work with? This would do wonders for stories adapted from manga, since it gives the written material more time to distance itself from the anime. Plus, we wouldn’t need filler arcs that get nothing done and only serve the same purpose that hiatuses do except that filler arcs only give the animators more work.

It barely worked in the previous era! It still baffles me that Naruto survived NEARLY TWO STRAIGHT YEARS OF FILLER in the original series and then a full length filler arc in between almost all of the Shippuden ones! I mean HOLY SHIT!

That’s not to say that Fairy Tail or Bleach deserve cancellation any more or less because of their reliance on filler (or lack thereof in FT’s case), but this would be so much more easier to continue or at least preserve if they just took a break every 26 episodes or so for these shows. Especially with a show like Fairy Tail, where the lack of a over-arching plot actually comes in handy!

RINSE AND REPEAT. It gives the staff time to take a break or work on other projects, meaning more anime gets done faster. It’s not like there’s going to be a time of the year that anime ISN’T on some station somewhere in Japan!

Agreed. That plan would work more. Do a major arc or two, maybe even a filler arc if necessary, then take a break in between to work on the next arc. Kinda like how Nickelodeon did with Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I swear Lucy is the punching bag of Fairy Tail. How many times have we seen her just get beaten to a pulp in this series? It’s just ridiculous, but even more frustrating when the series has made the point that Lucy’s spirits can open the gate on their own and show up whenever they want. So how is it in two straight incidents no one showed up during all this? I mean this is a recreation of Lucy vs. Bickslow; Lucy’s keys get stolen and Loke on his own comes to her rescue. So where the heck was the backup? Even if Minerva could toss the spirits out they aren’t competitors so could just leap right back in to help. We had enough reason to hate Sabertooth, they didn’t need to use Lucy again as a tool to make us hate the villains.

As to Gray…I kind of see his perspective. That is a seriously embarrassing attack name. It’s still on him because he hasn’t faced this situation with Juvia. Time he decides what he is going to do here. This girl has been in love with him for a long time and while it’s been treated as comedy for much of it, it appears that time is at an end. Maybe Gray is uneasy about a relationship after losing his family and mentor to Deliora. Of course if he cares so much about the guild, he should be willing to treat someone special. Either way time to stop dodging the issue.

But really all of this is nothing to the shock of the series stopping after a few episodes. Completely out of left field here. I don’t think it’s a bad idea since I feel like long running series like Fairy Tail, Naruto, One Piece, etc, should take breaks because otherwise it leads to poor pacing and bad fillers. But stopping mid-arc is surprising and I just hope they will be coming back for sure. I’ll probably transition into following the manga again, but it’s a surprising development.

I have been saying that for a while. She is one of the main characters and a member of FT’s strongest team (along with Natsu, Gray, and Erza) but she is mostly useless as a team meber when times are tough. Her spirits are mostly for comic relief (except for Loki). Hell Yukino has a couple spirits and they are stronger then Lucy and she has 10 keys!!!!!

No Bleach was straight up cancelled and if it returns it will be after the Manga ends with an rushed Inyasha style “Final Cut”. If Fairy Tail returns it will be when the Manga is still running kinda like Gintama does as in Fairy Tail’s case unlike Bleach’s the Manga is still popular.

Also on your question of is it the “in” thing to do. Some Shonen anime now are doing this themselves such as Bakuman which took a 180 chapter anime and adapted it into three very fast paced and high quality anime seasons, in fact the anime is so dense they had to drop an entire arc this season. I hope Shonen Shows start to do that in the future rather then keep long running anime going of questionable quality.

Not to mention Lucy’s spirits never seem to perform quite as well as they should (whether we’ve seen them do better before becoming her spirit or that they keep leaving before fighting to completion *cough* Aquarius *cough*). It’s frustrating to see, and there aren’t really any wins that ever appear on Lucy’s side to help even the injustice.

Fairy Tail anime has been confirmed to end at the end of March. Sad for fans of the series but this arc just gets worse and worse as it goes on in the manga, so hopefully the anime can come up with an ending that’s actually good and befitting of Fairy Tail, rather than whatever Mashima is trying to do.

Please they’re not going to give it an original ending for multiple reasons the biggest they can’t as March 30th doesn’t give them enough time to write one, even Blue Exorcist set up an arc for its ending. They could pull a Claymore though and pull an ending out of their ass however… I think its most likely they’ll end on a cliffhanger and wait for the Manga to move forward more so they don’t have to do a filler arc and then transition Fairy Tail into a two cours higher end series that takes a break ever two cours kinda like Bakuman.
Also I don’t know but I have a suspicion that Fairy Tail’s ratings probably dropped during the filler arc and Mashima and the Studio is scared it’ll happen again. So rather then have another filler arc they’ll give up the time slot for a period of time.

Now the potential bad side:
Fairy Tail the anime has never been as popular as the Manga. The manga still sells gangbusters but Fairy Tail DVD sales are low which isn’t super huge for a Shonen show but it’s still bad. Also post time skip the Fairy Tail ratings have not been that good so its possible they just want to end it.

Although why replace it with Driland is a question entirely that doesn’t seem to be any better then Fairy Tail would be…

Low, they went from an average share of 2.7% to an average of 1.3% post time skip. The long filler arc really hurt the ratings also the change of time slot hit them, they were previously part of the Shonen filled time slot with Bleach/Toriko and Naruto and eventually switched to the more kid friendly Saturday morning time slot (for the record it wasnt just Fairy Tail only One Piece survived that particular change and One Piece cant be touched).

On a side note the last episode’s title is “The Face of the Girl I Saw”. So that seems to mean they’re going to pull and Inyasha and just end it on a cliffhanger rather then rap things up quickly.

Also another thing to take into account is the oddity of the timing. Why would a studio produce a movie for a show it was planning on cancelling or produce a new OVA for MONTHS after the Anime itself is cancelled.

Perhaps though Fairy Tail’s popularity in North America and Europe will help it return one day but that is unlikely as Claymore is also very popular in North America and that remains dead as a door nail.

It’s one of the Top #3 on Crunchyroll and the DVD’s sell well here. Although foreign popularity tends to help Manga keep going not Anime’s as the publishers get more royalties from the Manga then they do from Anime Sales. Regardless the best on can do now is if you like Fairy Tail cross your fingers for it to pull a Gintama but don’t be surprised if we have another D. Grey Man on our hands…

I hope the last few episodes are well done. It seems like the anime will end with a cliff-hanger from the end of chapter 297, which is quite .. interesting? Well, after 4 years, Saturday mornings will become boring again.. Let’s hope we’ll get to see the rest of the series animated sometime, perhaps in better quality and with less censorship! Also, Hiro Mashima seems to have some good news for us later so let’s look forward to that!

That aside, argh, how I dislike you, Minerva! Knowing what happens in manga, that won’t change anytime soon.. On the other hand, she’s a sly villain which makes her somewhat different. About Lucy, yes. She’s basically being used to show off opponent’s power or to make us hate them. There really isn’t any better person fit for that role. I mean, imagine that someone else would take beating from Minerva, I doubt it would have as much impact on the other characters and us viewers as in Lucy’s case. Though yes, poor her. Even if she gets her time to shine, to show off her bravery, she gets humiliated in the end.

Anyway, I wish that Juvia got a serious fight for once, without involving Gray and comedy. Even the one against Meldy can’t be considered such since Gray and comedy, despite its seriousness, played a huge role.

And finally, the quality of animation has somewhat increased, compared to the last two episodes. I hope they keep it like this until the very end, if not better. It was a good ride. Thanks for the awesome post, as always!

Minerva is such a mean and vile character. I hope when its all said and done she gets whats coming to her. I will scream bloody murder if she repents and is forgiven. FT does way too much of that (Juvia, Gajel,Jeellal, and Ultear just to name a few).

Surprised the anime is ending but its almost caught up to the manga so I can see why they’d just want to stop it now before it gets to far ahead. Somewhat surprised that a lot of the fights in the manga have felt kinda rushed if this was the plan.

This is so not cool for Anime Fans. First Bleach and now Fairy Tail, so who’s next to go. Anyways I still believe that both Bleach and Fairy Tail will returnin a few years because if Shounen Animes like Inuyasha could return for it’s conclusion as the manga and Hunter x Hunter could return(from the beginning) I doubt that these two shows( Fairy Tail and Bleach) will remain cancelled forever, it’s more like they are on hiatus.

And again, Lucy gets the short end of the stick, sigh. And I totally agree with you stereoman about Juvia as well. I really want them to start showing how strong she really is. I mean she was magnificent when we were first introduced to her and now she’s…. blah. Don’t get me wrong I still love her, but I just wish like you, she wasn’t used as a comedy character ALL the time.

well Mashima did say there will be good news to come so lets keep our hopes up. Also, I hope Fairy Tail will started on a later better time slot in which they would finally show some blood. as much as I love the Fairy Tail anime, the lack of blood make the realism of the battles look off. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Even though I’m reading the manga, I’m REALLY enjoying the anime very much and looking forward each new episode, my week-end will lack something starting next month, I miss it already ;_; Only 4 episodes to go! It feels so incredibly short to say goodbye!

Well if the show is ending/going on hiatus then maybe when it returns it will return to a more shonen orientated friendly time slot so that we can have blood and more a more adult art style instead of some of the gimmicks that they use like sound effects when ever fanservice is used etc.

Anyways refusing to watch this episode because I would destroy something after watching Minerva torturing lucy.

The anime’s definitely gonna end at manga chapter 297. If the anime does make a come back Ch 298 will probably end up as an OVA and we’ll continue from Ch 299.

Also in the Manga didn’t Minerva beat Lucy to a pulp in the last 30 seconds and the match ended at 0 seconds. I think they just wanted to bring out Minerva’s twisted side a bit more by having her beat Lucy after the match had ended.

If my guess is correct Episode 175, the concluding episode of Fairy Tail will be either the Ryuuzetsu Land chapter or the Travelling Alone chapter(the silent chapter with Gildarts) and then the show will go on hiatus till it returns. Have Faith my fellow FTF(Fairy Tail Fans) after all this is one of the best popular Shounen Manga/Anime, It will definitely return, don’t let the haters bring us down they can cheer all they want, we will get the last laugh and have our hands held high when it finally returns because our love for the show will never die.

Well…
I kinda liked it, when Lucy was beated the hell out of her… <.<
Really…
She IS useless.
It's always her, who…
a)…has the guilty for the upcoming fight (2nd Arc, Filler-Arc, Sabertooth-Rage…and so on).
b)…has crappy magic. This celestial-magic is useless, if you compare it to other magic (too many negative aspects).
c)…is always just a fan-service character.
Really…
She IS just useless.

They can’t be serious, they just can’t, they can’t END the series like that. For goodness sake, they can’t end the arc in the middle like that. I would have understood if the anime ended AT THE END OF THE ARC, BUT IN THE MIDDLE?!? That doesn’t add up!

Naruto has 525 episodes, but the conclusion in the manga is getting near; One Piece has 585 episodes and no end in the manga has been foreseen. Fairy Tail is getting more popular and they’re pulling the plug after like 175 episodes?!? COME ON NOW!

Mashima stated on Twitter that “Please be patient … for me to announce some good news” He better be telling the truth here.

They’re ending it on a strong note. Meaning, should it return, it will return on a strong note. Better to end it now that give it the filler syndrome Bleach, Naruto and One Piece were dealt (filler in the middle of an arc, really, Bleach?).

Side note: Am I the only one who thinks the most well animated part of any of these recent episodes is Natsu’s eye opening in the OP?

Yeah, I think the best sign is that they are going as normal until they stop making episodes. Not creating a stupid anime original ending, but just leaving it in a position to continue on normally down the road.

I do prefer the idea of avoiding long filler arcs or seriously compromising the flow of the story by stretching things out too much. We’ve seen all of that from the big series of Bleach, Naruto and One Piece. All of them have suffered to some degree. (Bleach and it’s filler arcs mid real arcs, Naruto [filler hell then painful pacing at times after that], and One Piece [super slow pace because of how close they are to the manga]. What filler arcs Fairy Tail had was enough. Take a break and come back in a while at full throttle.

It’s just really uncomfortable having it end like this because there’s no guarantee when/if it will be back. But I’ve believed this is the better way to make a quality series, so I should stand by it.

Awe man and this arc was awesome animated too. I read the manga but always excited for the anime as well for the music and voice actors, plus it’s kinda like re-reading the manga re-experiencing all the past stuff.

I hope it can return one day but I will miss this anime for sure. This is one of the few anime that actually kept going so since the start I’ve always had my weekly dose. Definitely been part of something I followed religiously since fall 2009.

I never got why people are against fillers. I do understand not wanting fillers in the middle of an arc. I also understand that most fillers have been garbage.

But the idea of a filler is fine to me. If the writers can make a good story then why not? The thing that annoyed me most about the last filler was that it was sloppy. Lucy’s dad having a magical clock piece, Michelle just being a doll and somehow being found by the Oración Seis.

They would have been better off making an arc where they take a job on some other land, find out the job is bigger than they thought, change some lives, and win through NAKAMA POWER xD All without messing with character canon from the manga.

The Phoenix movie is out and subbed and its pretty decent. It still has OP villians that destroy FT and in the end FT makes a comeback but we are used to that as we see that in every single arc. It also has some nice songs in it as well. I enjoyed it!

The pairings are moving forward, especially Gray and Juvia. I would be surprised to see Elfman and Evergreen together, but I think they would make a good couple if it ever happens. That was the worst one-sided fights I’ve seen in a while and having it a swimsuit battle didn’t help lessen my RAGE. Again it pinpoints Lucy’s weakness with losing her keys making her powerless. I know she has the whip and all, but being underwater omitted that possible weapon choice. Also, I can’t imagine no more Fairy Tail; doomsday is coming duh duh duh…kidding. At least the Fairy Tail movie came out, right?

The thing that I dont like about FT is they keep on overhyping villains just to get one shot by the main characters. They dont last multiple chapters and the guy that Laxus recently defeated was suppose to be strong as Makarov and was defeated by a mere punch. -.-

Did they say Ivan was even close to Makarov in power? Just because he’s his son doesn’t mean the guy is actually powerful. His greatest danger was the information he had.

Makarov is a wizard saint, let’s give him a bit more credit than some jerk son of his.

I don’t think it’s a big problem. It keeps a series from stagnating with spending a ridiculous amount of time in a fight. Fights generally go one way or another rather quickly. When both sides are throwing powerful stuff at each other it’s a bit much for them to just shrug it off.

I mean take the fight against Jellal. The guy had multiple “one hit and you are dead” abilities to use. Unless you make the characters immortal things have to conclude rather quickly.

In the end I think it’s a matter of preference. Drag the fight out or just have it be a quick showdown. Both have pros and cons.